Gatwick Airport has announced plans to create a management system for passengers travelling through the airport, Computer World has reported online, citing an online tender.
The move is intended to better understand customer behaviour and identify new opportunities for growth.
According to the online tender, the airport is looking for a supplier to provide data management services that support the ‘application of value-adding customer insight strategies’. The contract will be effective for a minimum of three years, and suppliers interested in participating in the tender process have until March 10 to submit their information.
‘Gatwick Airport is seeking to better understand its customers and use insight from passenger data to identify opportunities for growth,’ the tender notice said.
‘The purpose of this project is to begin the process of creating a single source of customer data by creating a membership management system for a new passenger engagement programme,’ it added.
Gatwick Airport, the UK’s second largest hub, has been focusing on IT investment in recent months, particularly on cloud-based systems. Gatwick said that it would be the first airport to move its central operational database to cloud as part of wider plans to consolidate its data centre estate.
In addition, it has also given its 2,500 employees access to Box, a cloud-based collaboration tool, in a bid to strengthen employee productivity.
In January, the airport updated its biometric-based automated passenger verification system with additional functionality. The new technology, from UK-based Human Recognition Systems, is claimed to enable the airport to make informed gate control and alert decisions based on accurate passenger movement information, ensuring operational efficiencies.
Gatwick Airport served 2.2 million passengers in January, an increase of 6.6 percent compared with 2.09 million passengers served during the corresponding period in 2013.
